‘Three fuel companies to start importing diesel on May 10’

AMMAN — The three fuel distribution companies operating in Jordan will start importing diesel on May 10, an informed government official told the Jordan News Agency, Petra, on Saturday.

Total Jordan, Manaseer Oil & Gas and the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company's (JPRC) Jordan Petroleum Products Marketing Company will each receive a third of the imported fuel.

The companies will sell the diesel directly to consumers through operate their 450 fuel stations across the Kingdom, the official added. 

The decision puts an end to the JPRC monopoly over diesel imports.

In January, the government signed a memorandum of understanding with the three suppliers to import diesel and distribute it directly to consumers without the mediation of the JPRC.

Under the memo, the companies will import a total of 288 metric tonnes of diesel over a six-month trial period, at an average of 48 metric tonnes per month, Petra reported. 

In remarks to The Jordan Times earlier this year, Energy Minister Ibrahim Saif said that after the trial period, the companies "will be allowed to import other types of oil derivatives gradually".

The finance and energy ministries will be part of the process by monitoring the floating of tenders and studying the results, according to the minister.

"The prices of fuel derivatives will continue to be set by the government committee that sets prices at the end of each month," Saif noted.

The JPRC currently refines 75 per cent of Jordan’s fuel product needs, according to the latest available figures, with the government sourcing the remainder by importing already refined fuel from abroad.

Jordan imports about 97 per cent of its energy needs annually.